Deidre Williams

The three Democratic candidates for mayor of Buffalo will participate in a debate at the Burchfield Penney Art Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today.
Mayor Byron W. Brown, Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant and city Comptroller Mark Schroeder will field questions on critical issues ranging from education and economic development to workforce diversity and making sure …

A lasting legacy
The Police Athletic Club’s Tennis Camp celebrated the memory of Natalie Lewis Wednesday during its award ceremony at the Delaware Park McMillan Tennis Courts.
The camp was renamed “Love to Serve” in honor of Ms. Lewis, a noted local athlete who died in a hot-air balloon accident in Virginia in 2014 at age 24.
Ms. Lewis was an intern in May…

Serving up love
The tennis camp where Natalie Lewis once coached youngsters will be renamed “Love to Serve” in her honor today.
Ms. Lewis died in a hot-air balloon accident in Virginia in 2014.
The 24-year-old was a noted local athlete who set records for Nardin Academy and continued to excel as a scholar-athlete in the University of Richmond’s swimming prog…

Happenings on Hertel
Did you hear Hertel Avenue is getting 27 new, custom-made corrals to be installed along the busy business district? Each of the black, iron corrals will hold one garbage tote and one recycling tote?
One of them was unveiled yesterday, and they look pretty cool.
While I was checking out the new corrals, I noticed a couple of new businesses al…

A poll released Monday shows incumbent Byron W. Brown ahead of his two challengers by a wide margin in the Buffalo mayoral race.
The Spectrum News/Siena College poll of likely Buffalo Democratic primary voters shows the three-term incumbent leading with 51 percent, compared with 24 percent for city Comptroller Mark J. F. Schroeder and 13 percent for Erie County Legislat…

Hertel Avenue should look cleaner soon.
Twenty-seven new, custom-made corrals will be installed along the busy business district. Each of the black, iron corrals will hold one garbage tote and one recycling tote.
The project will help keep the area neat and clean, and it’s what business owners wanted, said Delaware District Councilman Joel P. Feroleto, who unveiled…

Celebremos la herencia y la cultura hispana!
The Puerto Rican flag was hoisted Thursday afternoon in Niagara Square to kick off the 15th annual Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day Parade of Western New York.
It's the largest Puerto Rican and Hispanic parade in the state, Mayor Byron Brown said during the flag-raising ceremony.
This year’s theme: “Unidos Siempre!” ("…

The fight to get the lead out of Buffalo homes is on again -- this time amid the fight to also see who will be in charge of the effort as mayor for the next four years.
Candidate and city Comptroller Mark J. F. Schroeder revived the issue this week by laying out a plan to change the way the city tests for lead. If elected, he would hire certified lead inspectors a…

Next Street, an advisory firm with offices in New York City, Boston and Chicago, has been selected as the program operator for the Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center on the city’s East Side.
Next Street provides financing solutions, training and strategic advice to entrepreneurs and urban businesses to help them expand to serve more clients and handle larger job…

Party on the block
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus was rocking on Wednesday for the first-ever BNMC Summer Block Party sponsored by Roswell Park Cancer Institute, University at Buffalo and Kaleida Health.
The family-friendly activity brought together nearby neighbors, employees who work on the Medical Campus and their families.
There was food, activities for ki…

Putting up a fight
What’s red and yellow and represents the number 8888?
It’s the fighting peacock flag flying outside City Hall.
The banner marks the anniversary of Aug. 8, 1988 – the day protesters in Burma demonstrated and marched to demand democracy and freedom in that country but were met with a brutal crackdown by the military regime.
Thousands repo…

The results are in
Does your neighborhood have a wish list?
Does your block need street lighting improvements?
Could your community center use a van?
Imagine having a direct vote in how the city spends your tax dollars.
That’s a loose description of how participatory budgeting works. Basically, ideas for projects come from community stakeholders and then a…

Boarding the Queen of Peace ferryboat for its inaugural voyage on the Niagara River on Sunday brought back memories for Matthew Scanlon Hamp and his brother, Fred Hamp.
As the ferry was leaving the City of Tonawanda, bound for Grand Island, the Hamp brothers shared passed-down stories dating as far back as the 1880s and early 1890s, when their great-grandfather, Matthew…

Buffalo has a new traffic safety initiative aimed at slowing motorists in areas known for chronic speeding.
Amherst Street, for instance, has been equipped with electronic signs with flashing digits to alert drivers of their speed. In a few weeks, police will begin increased enforcement of traffic laws.
The initiative, announced Thursday on Amherst by Mayor Byron W.…

Blast from the past
Seeing this old A&P sign took me back down memory lane.
For much of the 20th century, A&P was the largest retail grocer in the country.
The eight-story concrete block building located on Swan Street in Larkinville was once the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. warehouse. The grocery chain opened its Buffalo division and regional head…